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Archive for October, 2007

Key MalacaÃ±ang officials, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita and Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno, have denied that there is a growing rift between them.

ABS-CBN correspondent Nadia Trinidad reported on Bandila Tuesday that the official word from MalacaÃ±ang is that all is well in the Cabinet even if talk is rife that in-fighting is heating up among the President Arroyo’s men.

The growing rift was reportedly a result of a recent scandal involving the MalacaÃ±ang’s alleged role in paying off local officials and also as a result of President Arroyo’s seeming new alliance with pardoned former president Joseph Estrada.

The Filipino inventor of rent-a-coffin is back with another creation: a coffin with multimedia capability wherein Filipinos abroad can express their condolences in real-time to those who lost their loved ones back home.

Antonio Andes yesterday said one of the features of his newest invention is a multi-function display panel and through the use of the Internet, it can provide video stream of messages from relatives who canâ€™t make it to the wake.

â€œDuring the wake period, we usually witness strips of ribbon where names of the family members of the deceased are written and with the aid of a safety pin, it is pasted at the inner cover of the coffin. A single picture frame of the deceased may be displayed atop the full glass cover of the coffin,â€ said the 42-year-old Filipino inventor.

HONG KONG (AFP) â€“ While the money-making and party-throwing opportunities of Halloween thrive across Asia, the festival also shines a spotlight on the regionâ€™s profound relationship with the afterlife.

From traditional markets to modern entertainment districts, major cities across Asia are looking to cash-in on â€œAll Hallowsâ€™ Eve.â€

In Hong Kong, markets bulged with lanterns, masks, fake pumpkins and costumes that were quickly snapped up, while online game developers, cinemas and department stores splashed special offers and products in Seoul.

Come November 7, former President Joseph Estrada will be facing a new headache â€“ the Sandiganbayan will issue a Writ of Execution confiscating almost P900 million worth of his assets.

ABS-CBNâ€™s Ces OreÃ±a Drilon reported that this was stipulated in the ruling handed down by the Sandiganbayan last September 12.

The graft court ruled that since Estrada was found guilty of plunder, he would have to return P545 million deposited in the account of the Erap Muslim Youth Foundation, P189 million in another account under the name of Jose Velarde and P142 million in real property consisting of a house and lot dubbed as Boracay mansion located at No. 100, 11th St., New Manila, Quezon City.

Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Avelino I. Razon Jr. said yesterday that United States and Australian experts have affirmed the initial findings of post-blast investigators that the Glorietta 2 blast in Makati City recently that killed 11 people and injured more than 100 others was caused by an accidental gas explosion.

Razon said the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Australian Federal Police which conducted a probe on the explosion have ruled out the bomb angle behind the incident as their findings point to an accidental gas explosion.

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has blacklisted a Syrian national for insulting Philippine consular officers in his country.

Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan ordered 47-year-old Ismail Saraj to be placed in the bureauâ€™s list of undesirable aliens and banned from entering the country.

Libanan said the order stemmed from the request of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) which reported that Saraj threatened and insulted the officers and staff of the Philippine consulate in Damascus.